Spirits of the Dead (1968)

The quote in my summary line was spoken by the 'good' Wilson to the 'bad' Wilson (Alain Delon portrayed both) in the second chapter of this Poe based trilogy, so if you saw it you know what it means. It was the single sentiment that had application to each of the stories presented here because death was involved in each one. Reading a handful of other reviews for the picture here, it appears that many of them simply dismiss the first two segments and favor the 'Toby Dammit' piece directed by Federico Fellini. For myself, I found all three chapters to be about equally worthy.With the piece on 'Metzengerstein' however, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have had those flagrant, colorful costumes in whatever era the story represented. They're primarily used to augment Jane Fonda's physical assets, who a couple of times provides her own interpretation of riding bareback. No surprise there, as this was directed by Fonda's husband at the time, Roger Vadim, who utilized a similar soft porn technique in the same year's "Barbarella", also starring Fonda. If I had been in charge of the story, my twist ending would have had Peter Fonda's character emerge once again after the Countess (Jane) perishes. I'm sure they could have worked that out.The piece on William Wilson (Delon) and his doppelganger who kept showing up during stages of his life was an interesting concept. I don't know about Brigitte Bardot as a dark haired beauty though, that was a distraction. Keep an eye on that final card game when Giuseppina (Bardot) loses it all, Wilson deals himself two cards in a row during the final hand. Why wouldn't she call him on it? The 'Toby Dammit' chapter was based on Poe's novel 'Don't Wager Your Head to the Devil" which makes every bit of sense at the final scene. What I was more concerned about was they never got around to filming that Catholic Western Toby (Terrence Stamp) traveled to Rome for. I thought there was some potential there. Toby himself is an arrogant, spiteful, condescending and neurotic actor who hates his audience, making me wonder why he was treated like such a super star. Served him right at the end of the story when he crashed his Ferrari off the bridge at the behest of his friendly and joyful devil. It wouldn't be the first time a guy lost his head over a pretty young thing.

Also known as Histoires Extraordinaires, this film combines three short stories by Edgar Allen Poe, and has each segment directed by a different European director. The first, entitled Metzengerstein, is directed by the man that helmed Barbarella, Roger Vadim. It tells the story of a beautiful yet debauched countess Federica (Jane Fonda) who falls in love with her family rival, Baron Wilhelm (Peter Fonda - bit weird, them being real-life brother and sister), who frees her leg from a trap in the woods. After he rejects her, she orders the burning of one of his villages, and the Baron is killed when attempting a rescue of one of his horses. The horse is taken in by Federica, who becomes obsessed with it once she notices its resemblance to the one painted on a damaged tapestry.The second story, William Wilson, is directed by French film-maker Louis Malle. It tells a familiar doppelgänger story of the wicked William Wilson (Alain Delon) who is also interrupted by his 'better half' who shares his name and his appearance, but none of his evil ways. After winning a card game against Giuseppina (Brigitte Bardot) through repeatedly cheating, his other half exposes him, and the two face a duel. The third, directed by Federico Fellini and entitled Toby Dammit, follows alcoholic Shakesperean actor Toby Dammit (Terence Stamp) who is brought to Rome to star in an adaptation of the story of Christ, re- imagined as a western. Haunted by visions of a blonde girl who has lost her ball, he goes on a drunken ride through Rome in a Ferrari.The biggest problem with this film is the variations of quality in the different episodes. Vadim's opener is a pretty poor effort, with a strange storyline focusing on a woman's obsession with a horse. It seems to be nothing more than an excuse to get Jane Fonda into some skimpy medieval outfits. That is all well and good (it was one of the key reasons why I loved Barbarella!) but it's a silly story and a waste of some beautiful cinematography. Malle's second story is a big improvement, but it is clear that his heart is not really in it. Apparently he agreed to take on the job in order to raise money for Murmur of the Heart, and compromised to make the film more accessible to mainstream audiences. But the eroticism of the card game, and the strange atmosphere that is evident throughout make it an enjoyable 40 minutes.Fellini's final segment is very much the director's own vision. It is so far gone from anything resembling Poe's original vision, it could be easily called Fellini's own. Thematically similar to most of his key works, Terence Stamp's crumbling lead character is the main focus, and his disintegrating sanity is laid out on the screen with a collection of flashing images, bizarre characters, and unconventional camera-work. It is also an attack on celebrity, as the characters that Dammit comes across don't react or flinch at his increasingly strange and unpredictable behaviour. It's a shame that Fellini is restricted to a 40 minute portion of a 2-hour film, as I would have quite happily watched Toby Dammit as a full-length feature. An enjoyable, if unspectacular overall film, with the stories getting notably better as the film goes on.www.the-wrath-of-blog.blogspot.com

Three Poe stories; three directors; three failures.Simply put, this movie is not entertaining. Using Poe's name, and labeling the stories as interpretations by famous directors does not cover the poor performance and overall boring conclusion.The viewer, very possibly a fan of Poe, keeps hoping for something to develop, but it never does. Jane Fonda never removes her clothes. Peter Fonda is a again outperformed by a bird. The beautiful scenery and castles are fantastic. Hells bells ring loud and clear. But the movie never turns into an entertaining event.The Night Gallery TV series had many good stories and many duds. The adaptations of Poe stories in the film Spirits of the Dead would never have been used in the most desperate space-filler needs of television.There are several good film adaptations of Poe stories, but Spirits of the Dead is not worth watching.

"Metzengerstein": the bored and corrupt medieval countess Frederica (Jane Fonda) spends her futile life in orgies and cruelties. When she moves with her friends to one of her castles nearby the lands of her poor cousin Baron Wilhelm (Peter Fonda), she desires him but is not corresponded. When one of her minions burns the stable, Wilhelm dies trying to rescues his stallion and Federica is haunted by her lost cousin.This erotic female version of Caligula shows the delicious Jane Fonda, who was married to Roger Vadim at that time, wearing sexy costumes very similar to "Barbarella" (of the same year). But the story is weak. My vote is five."William Wilson": the sadistic and cruel soldier of the Austrian army William Wilson (Alain Delon) confesses to a priest the cruelties he committed along his sinful life and the participation of his double also called William Wilson in specific moments of his dreadful life.This short directed by Louis Malle is the certainly the best segment of these adaptations, showing the fight between the dark side and the human part of the same character. Brigitte Bardot is very different with black hair. My vote is six."Toby Dammit": the cynical alcoholic and decadent English actor Toby Dammit (Terence Stamp) travels to Rome to make a Catholic Western, but only interested in receiving the Ferrari promised by the production.This messy segment directed by Federico Fellini uses stylish images and a great performance of Terence Stamp, but the story is confused and the boring conclusion is too long. My vote is four.My global vote for these adaptations is five.Title (Brazil): "Histórias Extraordinárias" ("Extraordinaries Stories")